KM
Classes of ships within the KM Throughout the Naval history of Unified Germany, the German Navy was a formidable force in the open seas. In the formation days of the German Empire, the Navy started of from a small Prussian coastline which joined German Empire. It was known as the "Imperial German Navy" or in German "Kaiserliche Marine" (Kaiserlike Marine( The Kaiser or der Kaiser was the ruler of germany)). In its later years it received a huge expansion programme from then-Kaiser Wilhelm II who wanted to compete with his cousin King George V of Britain and enlarged its mission. The key figure of this expansion was Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, who greatly expanded the size and quality of the navy. In the First World War, the Kaiserliche-Marine would go on to become the second largest naval fleet of the war, second only to the British Royal Navy. The superseder of the Kaiserliche Marine was the Kreigsmarine(War Navy). Serving under the Nazi Germany it fought in the Spanish Civil War and the WWII. The backbone of the Kriegsmarine were their trademark "U-boats" (Submarines), which contributed to millions of shipping lost by the allied nations by sinking many cargo ships. They hunted in formations known as "Wolfpacks" and most of them were build after the Plan-Z initiation. The most famous heavy cruisers of among the Navy are the Admiral Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer of the Deutschland-class of Panzerschiffs, and the most famous battleship being Bismarck, nameship of the Bismarck-class of battleships. After the WWII, the ship's were divided among allied nations and were used for missions such as minesweeping. Cruisers German cruisers start off as lighter versions of their contemporaries, but as they progress up the tiers (especially past Tier VI), their true prowess is revealed: turrets that turn quickly, housing guns that rapidly fire powerful armor-piercing shells at long ranges, outranging, both American and Japanese cruisers. Their shells have reasonable firing arcs (i.e. no rainbow-like arcs such as those found on American destroyers and light cruisers) making gunnery very comfortable Mid-tier German cruisers have mediocre anti-aircraft suites at best, but at Tier VIII and above they are loaded with a mix of long-range, high damage 40mm, 55mm, and 105mm guns that provide excellent AA protection for themselves and allied ships. The downside is that German cruisers overall suffer from below average to average armor, poor concealment values, sub-pair HE shell damage, and rather average speed and maneuverability. Battleships The first thing one will notice when they start out the German battleship line will be the smaller-caliber guns as compared to their foreign counterparts (Nassau having 283 mm whilst the Japanese Kawachi and American South Carolina having 305 mm guns). This is however compensated by having a higher RoF compared, effectively enabling them to match up in terms of DPM to their same tier competitors. Their secondaries have access to only AP, but this is not an issue at low tiers because if aimed properly, will cause substantial damage, and can easily outperform HE firing secondaries. They also have a very decent firing range, on average about half of the main battery firing range. At tier VI they receive automatic secondary batteries that will automatically open up at the nearest target that is within its firing range. Their armour is also designed for CQE (close-quarter engagements), and should be played as such, although it should be noted that it is preferably in 1v1 situations only, which is not very common. Some of them come with torpedo tubes, which allows them to really excel in CQEs. At tier VI and above, the battleships gain access to a SONAR consumable, slightly increasing their detection range of enemy ships as well as enemy torpedoes. Category:Ships